@Checking_Invoices Is the Anonymous, Masked Instagram Account That Makes Fashion Fun Again

The Instagram account @Checking_Invoices is a chuckle. The feed features a masked model wearing glammed-up runway looks going through everyday tasks, as simple as grocery shopping or walking through a revolving door. In one instance, the well-dressed, face-obscured model is on a mall escalator wearing Vetements and Balenciaga garb, cheerfully waving Miss America–style. The caption is casual, almost boring: “Going to work on a Monday.” (That clip has since racked up more than half a million views.) Another standout moment includes the subject strutting down a quiet street in a hot pink fringed Emilio Pucci dress.

The absurd-chic account with more than 10,000 followers was created by two anonymous Milan-based Greek women. The pair are roommates: a stylist who acts as the model, and a set designer and filmmaker who is the photographer. The duo started the Instagram page in 2016 after they had been repeatedly trying on samples that they had called in for shoots. “It’s like when you are at home and you are trying on amazing looks and clothing for fun. I would take pictures of my friend [the model], but she doesn’t like her face to be shown, so she’d put black fabric on her face,” says the photographer. “We at one point had so many [photos] on our phone that we were like, ‘It could be an Instagram page for fun.’ ” The name “Checking Invoices” pokes fun at the industry, as well: “Being a stylist is about checking invoices of the [requested] items all the time,” says the photographer.

After the off-duty project began to gain traction, the two started to expand it and take it more seriously, even scouting for bodysuits, which range from lime green to highlighter yellow (those are mostly custom-made by a woman in Milan) to wild prints found online like leopard and icy blue snakeskin (just as the duo won’t reveal themselves, they won’t reveal the name of the store where they buy those, either). When the two are out in public shooting, the reactions from onlookers range. “We go to the supermarket, we go to the cinema, we go anywhere and people freak out. They don’t say anything because they are a bit in shock. They are a bit scared,” says the photographer. “We have a lot of courage!”

The mask component, after all, is as fascinating as it is ridiculous. Without it, the full-look-wearing subject of @Checking_Invoices could easily become lost in the oversaturated fashion bloggersphere. But the account is not the only example of the rise of masked fashion. Other users who have delved into the trend include @VanillaJellaba, the layered mask-wearing entity. (Unlike @Checking_Invoices, @VanillaJellaba does not venture outside.) As for the runway, Richard Quinn, Balenciaga, and of course, Maison Martin Margiela have all employed the hidden-identity look. Just this past year, Rihanna wore a gem-woven mask to attend Coachella, a move that the duo regard as “supercool.”

The founders’ thoughts on the rise of masked dressing also venture into more serious territory. One of their theories taps into modesty and religion: “Muslim countries have been being exposed more and we are getting used to seeing covered faces more,” says the model, adding that the rise of masked fashion may also be related to a person’s need to combat overexposure. “I think it has to do with a lot of crisis of identity these days. The identity changes because of social media exposure, and there is the need for privacy, which creates a mystery around the person.” Whatever the theory is, one thing remains true: Mystery, in 2018, gets plenty of likes.